The present invention relates to industrial electrocoating apparatus for applying a selected paint coating to workpieces conveyed in succession by a conveyor line.
Industrial finishing procedures generally include the basic operations of cleaning, electrocoating, rinsing to remove excess paint and baking. The cleaning and electrocoating operations often involve immersion steps, while rinsing is typically effected by spray procedures.
In many finishing plants, it may be desirable to be able to apply any one of several different colors or paint types, although only a limited amount of floor space may be available. In such plants, it would be desirable to be able to switch from one color to another in a minimum of time.
Heretofore, this has been accomplished by disposing several electrocoating tank units adjacent the electrocoating line, with each unit being mounted on rollers.
When a change of color is desired, the electrocoating tank unit which is presently in the electrocoating line is rolled to one side of the line and the unit containing the desired paint is rolled into the line. Then, the necessary heater and voltage connections are made.
Such an arrangement presents a number of substantial drawbacks in that it ties up floor space alongside the coating line, and shuts down the electrocoating line for significant time periods while the heavy tank units are being exchanged.